Superheated-steam equipment for internal-combustion engines



' 1,560,180 r31 L, LUNT ET AL SUPERHEATED STEAM EQUIPMENT FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Nov. 3, 1925 Filed Oct a, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'Nov. 3, 1925..

R. 1.,LUNT ET AL I SUPERHEATED STEAM-EQUIPMENT FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTIO ENGINES Filed on. a. 1920 "2 Sheets-Shea! g I llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 1|. lllllllll Ll l utcnted i l -av.

RAYDTUND L LUNT AND Flt! NK l d. HENRY, UF RHNNEAPULIEE,

TO THE LIEU SUUTH DAKOTA.

Application filed. October 8, 1920. Serial No. 415,571.

{AI-T31 lift. HENRY, citizens. of

ing to be a toll, clear, and enct description of the invention, such as i 1 enable others killed in the art to which 1t ap JQIttllllS to .iahennd use the-same.

tlur invention relates to internal combustion engines and is directed to the provision of sun 31% and oiiicient means tor supplying SUPQlhBtlt'Qtl steam and 'comi'ningling the same with the explosive charges, withinthe engine cylinders.

Generally statechthe objectot our invention is to increase the elliciency out the enn e in point of high power, running economy and reliability. i

In accordance with our invention, We accon'iplish the aboveobjects by the provision at a flashing: plate placed entirely within the explosion chamber of the cylinder and against which superheated steam is discharged. This flashing plate is secured tron: the inder head at the, compression end thereot: is spaced from said head so that it will be substantially surrounded by hot eases; is connected to the cylinder head or head end ot the cylinder by a small neck, the heal-conducting capacity, otwhich is not great; and the superheated. steam is delivered directly a nst this flashing plate.

The invention is illustrated. in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing a multicylinder internal combustion engine having our improved steam superheateig applied thereto; i

Fig. 2 is a plan view of said engine and super-heater, some parts beingbrohen away; and

Fig. 3 is an elevation withksome parts sectioned on the line 33 of Fig. 2.x

The engine illustrated is of the usual. construction, but,wasshown, is a six-cylinder engine, and hence,..the parts thereof may be briefly noted as follows: the crank cha1nher 4- cylinder block 5, 'l'lyrwheel 6, spark plugs "i' and exhaust manifold 8.

The arrangement of admission and c2;- haust manifolds, valves and the like, maybe the same in the engineillustrated as those of any standard multi-cylinder engine.

in carrying out our invention,we preferably use approximately one half as much water as gasoline or hydrocarbon fuel, and this water may be supplied from a suitable tank 9 which has a discharge pipe 9 that will be connected, through a suitable valve mechanism, to a steam-generating tube 10 that is extended through or within the exhaust manifold 8. The valve mechanism just referred to,may take various forms, but, as shown, is anordinary carbureter indicated as an entirety by the numeral .11. Here, said carburetor 11 will act as a spray ing device to deliver water vapor into the steam-generating tube.

The tube 10, as. shown,

is extended out through one end of the exhaust manifold 19 El and is connected to a steam manifold 12 located over the top of the engine and provided with branch pipes 12*, there-being one ot' the latter for each cylinder of the engine. Each branch pipe 12 is connected, by an elbow 13, to the upper end of a fixed tubular stem 14- that is extended downward through the top of the respective cylinder, intothe explosive chamber thereof, and, at its innorend, has an expandedv shoulder :15, against which. a concave convex disk-like flashing plate or flange 16 is clamped, by a nut 17 threaded on the extreme inner end at said stem. The flashing plate 16 is prefc -ably of copper and is provided with a multiplicity of holes to prevent the same from being bent ordistorted by the. force of the explosions. The stem 14 has a small axial passagell, which, at its lower extremity, is laterally extended so that it leads outwardly through the shoulder 15. .Interposed inv the several branch pipes 12*? are check valves 19 that, permit flow of superheated steam from said branch pipes into the respective cylinders, through the axial passage 18 of the corresponding stem '14, but checks the reverse or backwardyflow when theexplosions take place and at. all other timesl The steam-generating, tnbelOHis preferably a nickel-steel tube. When-the engine is in action, the nickel-steel steam-generating tube 10 will be heated to a high temperature and the copper disk 16 will. be kept at a dull red heat, but will not be raised quite to the flashing point of the explosive vapor, and, hence, will not produce premature explosions. The heatfrom said disk will be quite rapidly conducted therefrom through the stem 14, thus preventing overheating thereof. As will presently appear, the copper disk-like plate 16 performs an important function, which entitles it to bedesignated as a flashing plate. Said plate may, however, take various different forms, but to obtain thebest results should be so arranged and located that the superheated steam delivered into the cylinder will be delivered directly against the same.

The summary of the operation is substan tially as follows:

The water admitted into the generating tube 10 will be quickly converted into steam and then into superheated steam, and will be delivered through the steam manifold 12 and its branch pipes and stems 14, directly into the cylinders and against the atomizing plates 16.

Obviously, the superheated steam will be drawn into the cylinders under the suction strokes of the respective pistons. If, at any time, the pressure produced by the superheated steam in the generating tube 10 exceeds the force produced by suction, the further supply of water vapor, in said generating tube, will be automatically but temporarily stopped, to be again resumed whenever the suction force exceeds the back pressure of the generating steam in said tube.

The tube 10, above designated as a steam generating tube, is one form of steam generating chamber and is located in the exhaust manifold or so arranged that it is heated by the exhaust from the engine. The arrangement of any form of steam gener ating chamber, in the manner above indi cated and connected to the cylinders by a steam manifold, is considered broadly new.

The heat cycle is substantially as follows:

The hot gases from the exhaust manifold, acting on the tube 10, raise the temperature thereof nearly to that of the hot gases, and this tube abstracts an extremely large amount of British thermal units (B. t. u.) contained in the hot gases, and the heat thus abstracted will be absorbed by the water in the tube 10 and, in latent form, will be carried into the cylinders, by the superheated steam.

When the superheated steam strikes the flashing plates 16, any heat that has been lost by radiation is restored therein and the reactions above noted will take place, thus increasing the intensity of the explosion. Moreover, as already indicated, the introduced steam not only intensifies but prolongs the time of action of the force of the explosion on the piston, so that, somewhat, the action of a steam engine is added to or combined with that of the internal combustion engine. It will thus be seen first that the salvage of heat units. from the exhaust and then the introduction thereof back into the cylinders, must increase the efficiency of the engine. It also makes possible the use of low grade hydrocarbons, such as kerosene, which are known to be richer in heat units than the higher grade hydrocarbons, without encountering the usual results by way of accumulations of carbon in the cylinders on the pistons. The elimination of carbon deposits in engines, in itself, is of such known advantage that itdoes not require elaborate discussion.

WVhat we claim is:

1. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of a flashing plate of less diameter than the engine cylinder located entirely within the explosion. end of the engine cylinder, means outside of the engine cylinder for generating steam, and means for delivering steam thus generated against said flashing plate while the latter is hot.

2. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of a flashing plate of less diameter than the engine cylinder rigidly supported in the explosion end of the engine cylinder adjacent to the head thereof and substantially surrounded by the explosion space of said cylinder but having a contracted tubular neck extended through the cylinder, and means for delivering vaporized water or steam through said neck and directly against said flashing plate.

3. The combination with an internal combustion. engine, of a flashing plate of less diameter than the engine cylinder rigidly supported in the explosion end of the engine cylinder adjacent to the head thereof and substantially surrounded by the explosion space of said cylinder but having a contracted tubular neck extended througl'i the cylinder, and a steam generating tube subject to heat from the engine exhaust and connected to the tubular neck of said flashing plate for the delivery of steam directly against said flashing plate.

4,. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said flashing plate is perforated for the free passage of gasses therethrough.

5 The structure defined in cl aim 3 in. which said flashing plate is cup-shaped, is perforated, and the steam is delivered directly onto the upper surface thereof.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

RAYMOND L. LUNT. FRANK M. HENRY. 

